GIS at TTU

GIS Basics

• One definition of a GIS is "A collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, storing, updating, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information." From the Dictionary of GIS Terminology (Redlands, ESRI Press, 2001)
• What is a GIS? Here is one explanation from the TTU Department of Economics and Geography.
• The USGS also has an explanatory website: Geographic Information Systems
• ESRI (see below), the world's leader in GIS, has a GIS Basics page as well as a glossary of GIS terms.

GIS Availability

• Within the library, there are two facilities for GIS. One is the Government Documents/Map Collection GIS Lab, which is directly across from the Government Documents reference desk. It is a smaller lab, containing 3 terminals (each has 1 gig of memory, CD/DVD Read/write drive, Zip Drive, 3.5 floppy drive, ERSI’s ArcGIS software, Microsoft Office, and 21” monitors) and a large digitizing tablet, and is open as long as the Government Documents desk is staffed. Please sign in at the Government Documents reference desk for access to the lab. It is recommended that you store your data on a 100MB zip disk and not the computers themselves. If you would like basic instruction, feel free to contact the Maps/GIS Librarian to schedule a one on one appointment.
• There is a copy of the textbook Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop (G70.212 .G489 2001) at the Government Documents reference desk available for a 4 hour checkout.
• Around the corner and down the stairs is the ATLC, with a much larger number of available terminals in several labs. Texas Tech has site licenses for ESRI's GIS mapping software (ArcView and ArcGIS).
• You may download a free GIS program from ESRI called ArcExplorer.

GIS Resources and Links

General Data and Information Sources--these links are intended to get you started in the search for data and are not the only ones out there. You may also locate GIS links from the Online Reference Links page and Links to Texas Resources page.

• geodata.gov. New internet portal from the U.S. Government for "maps, data and other geospatial services"
• ESRI
• Geodata Software Systems
• GIS.com
• GisDataDepot
• GISPortal
• GeoCommunity
• The University of Edinburgh's GIS WWW Resource List

GIS Data--Texas and Beyond

• Links to Texas GIS sources.
• Playa Lakes Digital Database, Ernest B. Fish et al.
• Original Texas Land Survey Digital Dataset, Texas Railroad Commission.
• The Map Collection has Texas data from both the US Government and the State of Texas.
• Although these Digital Orthophotoquads Quads (DOQ's) below are available online from the Texas Natural Resource Information System website, the GIS Lab has the following on CD Rom:

• USGS digital orthophoto quads are available for the following Texas counties: Dawson, Deaf Smith, Hansford, Jefferson, Lee, Lynn, Ochiltree, Orange and Trinity. Counties in other states are available as well.
• Aerial photos of the TTU main campus taken April 25th, 2001. This is a 12 CD set. CD numbers 1-6 cover the area north of 4th St. between Indiana and Quaker; CD numbers 7-12 cover the area south of 4th St (which includes the main campus).
• DeLorme 3-D topoquads: Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico.
• Digital Texas, the 2002 Biennial Report from the Texas Geographic Information Council. Physical copy available in the Map Collection, G70.215 U6 D54 2002.

U.S. and World Data

• Recently acquired for the GIS lab has been a 1 degree digital elevation model (DEM) of the United States on 2 CDs.
• The Digital Chart of the World by the Defense Mapping Agency.
• National Transportation Atlas Database. Recently received the 2003 edition.
• The Geography Network. Search for national and international data.
• The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has compiled a huge list of links for U.S data.
• GIS Internet Resources, from the US Army Topographic Engineering Center.
• USGS EROS Data Center
• National Atlas of the United States Map Layers Warehouse. A very good place to start if you need U.S. point, line and area layers.  Most are available in Shapefile format.  Will need to be unzipped as well.
• The National Spatial Data Infrastructure. From this site (run by the Federal Geographic Data Committee) are links to GIS data available throughout the United States. Included are the EROS Data Center, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NOAA, and a lengthy list of associated GIS clearinghouses (not just U.S Data, either).
• Spatial Data Sources from Ohio State University.
• GeoData Information Sources from the University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research. U.S and international data.

Spatial data and digital cartographic data in the TTU library, available on CD ROMs, can also be located via the online catalog. Try these search techniques:

• Use the sentence "U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series" for a search in "series".
• Use "Transportation United States Databases" for a search in "subject".
• Use "Digital Mapping" for a search in "subject".
• For aerial photographs of texas use "texas--aerial photographs" under a subject search.
• For books about GIS, use "Geographic Information Systems" for a search in "subject".

Most CD ROMs may be checked out for 3 weeks.

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TTU Libraries are not responsible for the content of external sources. For questions about the content of this page, contact Jill Chai, Information Services Librarian for Electrical & Computer Engineering, [v] (806) 742-2236 x 279   [f] (806) 742-1964   [e]

This page last modified on 6 Oct 2004, 17:19.